Bald eagle captured, recuperating after fight in Lake Oswego

Oregon State PoliceThis bald eagle was found injured in Lake Oswego Sunday. Police captured it and took it to a care center.

Teresa Dir was alarmed and puzzled Sunday night by the piercing screams coming from a tree near her Lake Oswego home. At first, she thought a squawky peacock, which earlier had been serenading residents near Larch and Lee streets, had returned to the neighborhood.

But when she got a closer look, Dir realized two bald eagles were up in a big shade tree, fighting, and one was getting a whooping.

"It sounded like it was in pain," Dir said. "It sounded awful, and I called 9-1-1."

Shortly afterward, around 7:30 p.m., Lake Oswego police and Oregon State Police troopers used leather gloves and a heavy blanket to capture the bird, which was under a rhododendron bush. The other eagle flew off.

The bird was first taken to Emergency Veterinary Clinic of Tualatin and late Sunday night, the injured eagle was picked up by veterinarian Deb Sheaffer, who manages the Audubon Society of Portland's Wildlife Care Center.

Sheaffer said the eagle, an adult male, had suffered puncture wounds to one of its legs.

"We cleaned the wounds and put him on strong antibiotics," Sheaffer said Monday. "All we can do at this point is observe him and see how he does."

Sheaffer said X-rays turned up no broken bones. However, it was too early to guess when the bird could be released into the wild. For now, he is being kept in a large cage.

She estimated the eagle's age about 5 to 6 years. He weighs about 9 1/2 pounds.

Sheaffer said it is hard to know what triggered the fight between the two eagles, saying it could have been a squabble over territory or mating rights.

The incident is the one of several involving bald eagles in the past few weeks.

Last Thursday, an eagle flew into a North Portland home, shaking the entire house with the force of its impact. The bird at first appeared to have been injured, but flew off shortly afterward.

Also last week, an eagle was found dead in Lake Oswego.

And in January, someone shot an eagle in the Eagle Creek area of Clackamas County.

"I've been doing this kind of work for 15-plus years, and I've never seen so many eagle cases in the Portland area before," said Sgt. Chris Allori of the Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife Division. "Maybe that means there are more eagles now, so we're seeing more contact with them.

"But you have to be careful with eagles," he said. "They are big and powerful."